Microsoft has just released a technical preview for Word, Excel and PowerPoint available on PCs, laptops and tablets, as part of the Windows Insider Program. Users who are already part of the Windows 10 Technical Preview can access the new apps by searching for them in the Windows Store Beta.

Microsoft also mentions that the same apps will become available on phones and mini-tablets in the next few weeks. Reiterating, Microsoft said in a recent blog post that the universal apps are, “optimized for touch and mobile use”, and will be best suited to people who need to keep moving and work at the same time.

Those who are interested in what to expect can see demos of Word and PowerPoint on YouTube, but let us tell you what you can expect from the three apps already launched:

Word is set to improve the collaborative experience with real-time editing and reviewing features, while the Bing powered Insights feature lets users bring up information from the web, as well as images and references while going over documents in read mode.

Excel’s onus is on usability, with touch-screen making it possible to easily create, manipulate and format documents. Microsoft users that they  “won’t even miss” their keyboard and mouse.

With the new PowerPoint app it seems that the outstanding feature is the ability to annotate slides using Ink Tools.

As for Outlook for Windows 10, it’s reported that no specific time has been given for its release.

Microsoft added that Office 2016, the next release of the Office desktop, is still in development but should be available sometime in the second part of 2015. We’re told it will be much the same as what we are already familiar with, but that we should also expect some “compelling new experiences”.

Photo credit: Microsoft (Excel screenshot)